10 Most Labor-Intensive Desserts

Imagine a giant pile of sticky, sweet, decadent deliciousness, then cover it with more sticky, sugary goodness and you've got yourself a traditional French wedding cake: the croquembouche (French for "crunch in the mouth"). And it looks as fancy as it sounds: a pyramidal tower of cream-filled puff pastries dipped in chocolate or toffee, then decorated with caramel, spun sugar, nuts and chocolate. It's no small feat to make. And baking all of the little puff pastries (complicated enough by themselves) that make up this fantastic achievement isn't the only difficult part -- you have to mount it on a frame and decorate it too.